The first commandment of God reminds us in whom we must confide and in whom we must put our trust: in the Eternal God only. ” Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ” (Exodus 20: 3). ” 
In front of my face “. The words thus translated are explained by several in the sense of “beyond me,” “outside of me.” But the use of the term my face is not sufficiently explained in this sense and speaks instead in favor of the meaning that we admit: in my presence; under my eyes; an expression corresponding to this one: a jealous God, in the second commandment, and to this one: I will not abstain, in the third. The infinite being discerns every act of man, even the interior, and hears every word coming out of his mouth. This is what Jahve’s name implies.
The First Commandment of God Tell Me Who Should I Worship
To the question: Who should I worship? From the first command, the legislator warns us. We are called not to deceive ourselves with God. The world has gods, but in reality, there is only one, and true God.
Consider the second verse of Exodus 20, which says, ” I am the Lord your God.” To you who read this blog: Who is your god? Who do you love as a god? Who occupies the first place in your life and in your heart? How do you worship the Eternal God? Who do you want to compare God with? Who do you want to associate God with?
Only God, the eternal, uncreated, self-existent, author, and supporter of all that exists, has the right to worship and supreme veneration. This commandment forbids the man to give to anyone and anything the first place in his affections and his obedience. All that tends to diminish our love for God, or which hinders the service we owe him, becomes for us a god. And that makes us idolaters.
Literally, we can define worship, from a general point of view, as considering, a human being, an object, or a thing like a god by devoting all our love to it excessively, or by rendering it a cult (worship), or by entrusting us, giving in to him … In a word, by making of a thing or a creature our first priority (thus giving him the first place in our lives…).
The First Commandment of God Comes to Warn Us
In fact, this first commandment comes to warn us. Men have invented religions; some have created divinities; others have even attached themselves to objects that they regard as their gods. Since the entry of sin into humanity: the image of God has tarnished in us, the human faculties more and more degrade so much that the human spirit wavers and no longer recognizes its Creator. Men turn to idols, statues to adoring them.
When we place our hearts and our trust in things that we set above the Lord, we worship our false personal gods.
Few men have ever consciously and deliberately decided to reject God and His blessings. In fact, the scriptures teach us that it is because it has always seemed more difficult to exercise faith than to rely on things more at hand than the carnal man has tended to transfer his trust in God to material things. Therefore, at all times when men fell under the rule of Satan and lost faith, they replaced him with hope in the ” arm of the flesh ” and ” the gods of money of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, which see not, and know nothing “( Daniel 5:23), that is, idols. I see this as a dominant theme of the Old Testament. What the man holds most and what he puts the most trust in is his god; and if it turns out that his god is not also the true and living God of Israel, this man is in worship.
A Clear Violation of the First Commandment of God
Nowadays every people has its god, every tribe, in every corner of the world, has one or more gods that they honor. Some of these gods are materialized by statutes, amulets, sculptures, sacred mountains, etc. These things are supposed to grant graces and protections. In other cultures people worship the spirits of ancestors, the stars, and streams; these practices are a clear violation of the First Commandment of God. The problem is that some people convert without cutting contact with these gods since you come to Christ, you must give up all the gods, no longer serve them, or send them prayers and sacrifices. To consult a spirit, or a medium, a seer all this violates the First Commandment of God. (Genesis 35: 2, Exodus 23:32, Deuteronomy 32:16).
Serving a god is a form of spiritual prostitution. We must, therefore, avoid any communion with any spirit.
Mark a short pause and try to answer this question personally: Which god occupies the first and the best place in your life? Thus, it will be easy for you to know if God is your only God or if you have other gods or gods in your life.
In the figurative sense, a god is all things or people we love more than the Supreme God. For example, the Bible teaches us that greed is idolatry, that is to say, that for some individuals money is a god, for others, it is alcohol or sex, sport, our career, fame, anything that threatens the place of the Great God in our lives and pushes us to relegate his commandments to the background.
Modern idols or false gods can take such forms as clothes, houses, businesses, machines, cars, pleasure boats, and many other material things that turn away from the path of divinity … Intangible things also become gods easily. Diplomas, awards, and titles can become idols.
Power and Prestige
Another image that men adore is that of power and prestige … These gods of power, wealth, and influence are incredibly demanding and are just as real as the golden calves of the children of Israel in the desert.
Rather than devoting our hearts to the things of the world, we must use our resources to build the kingdom of God.
Possession of wealth is not necessarily a sin. But sin can reside in the acquisition and use of wealth …
The links we have with people must not be stronger than our connection with God.
Let us add that it is not a faith and half confidence that the first commandment of God demands. The Lord wants to possess our whole heart; he wants us not to use any other. It is only on this condition that he is our God and that we can say that we have him, that we possess him for God. Everyone understands that one does not own the Lord as one maintains a palpable and visible object. We cannot touch it, carry it on us, or lock it up in a secretary like we would for a medal. It is possessed when it is worn in the heart when it is attached to it by faith as the most precious of all treasures. Love for God commands trust. He who loves God believes and hopes in him. But why does the Lord want to be the absolute ruler of our hearts? Because he knows that he is the real good and the eternal life and that the graces he grants last forever.
Eternal God Is the Only Being We Must Worship
Eternal God is the only being we must worship and consider as accurate of God.
What we have just said must show you how much it is necessary for the first commandment of the law of God to be well understood and well observed. Hope everything from the gratuity of God, do not expect anything from yourself. God alone is the author of every perfect gift and every great grace, and he alone can satiate us with real goods. It is he who gave us life, it is he who supports and preserves it. He provides for all our needs, he protects us in the moment of danger; he comforts us in the trial and gives us his peace when the world is missed. Eating, drinking, clothing, all the things necessary for the health of the body and that of the soul come from him.
The present, the future, everything is a gift of his grace, and all these things he gives us if we have full confidence in him. In weakness, he is our strength; in peril, our support; all our deliverance comes from him.
In a word, to worship another god apart from the Creator God of all things is to break the first commandment of God. To love a being or an idea or an object or sin as God is to violate the first commandment. To associate an idol with our worship of the living God is to transgress the first commandment. To worship the creature instead of the Creator is to trample on the first commandment.
Only God deserves to be worshiped, praised, exalted, revered, glorified, magnified, revered, and brought up. Amen.
To read the article on the second commandment of God, please click on this link: the second commandment of God.